Jon Connington, one of the two "Hands of the King" currently presiding over Westeros, stood in the grand hall of Storm’s End, staring grimly at the battle map spread across the table. His mood was as dark as the storm that raged outside.
"You told me that if we didn’t counterattack, we’d lose our chance entirely—and I believed you. Even now, I don’t doubt the soundness of your earlier advice," he said without lifting his gaze, addressing the bald man seated across from him, w...
Aegor knew very little about military strategy, and the plan he offered Robb was mostly conjecture. Though it appeared calculated and persuasive, whether it was truly the best option remained to be seen.
He didn’t know whether the North would gain more than it would lose from this arrangement, but one thing was certain: the Night’s Watch—and Aegor himself—had emerged as the biggest winners of the discussion.
First, Robb had sought advice from Aegor, a theoretically neutr...
"In all situations, the opponent’s intent is the most important," Aegor said. "So why don't we first consider why Prince Doran Martell would engage in such a thankless task? After you led the Northern army off the battlefield, did the Dornish forces also withdraw as agreed?"
"As far as I know, yes."
Aegor rested his chin in his hand, pondering for a moment before looking up again. "I don’t know Doran Martell personally, but I did have some dealings with his brother. From Obe...
The Wall was supposed to be humanity's great shield, the last line of defense against extinction. But somewhere along the way, people began to treat it as a dumping ground, shoving one problem after another onto the Night's Watch. Robb Stark bore no ill will toward the Watch, but when he thought about it, he had to admit the truth: that was exactly what had happened.
Realizing this, even the young Warden of the North—who had trained himself to exude the air of a leader—felt a twing...
"The Gift awaits your arrival, my lord," Aegor said with a sigh of relief. The journey north was now decided, but he couldn’t simply take Robb to the Gift immediately. Preparations were necessary. Before his transmigration, Aegor had often criticized the bureaucratic pomp of preparing for leadership inspections. Yet now, he found himself becoming the very person he once despised. "However, there are still some matters to address. After all, I came south due to a lack of supplies, only to sp...
2025-01-28 23:11:00 +0000 UTC View PostAegor immediately focused when confronted with Robb's sharp attitude. Fortunately, despite the young Stark's seemingly aggressive demeanor, his words carried a critical implication: Robb wasn’t outright opposed to the Gift settlement plan. There was still a chance.
“First, I must apologize for the actions of Commander Mormont and myself. Allowing the Free Folk past the Wall without consulting the Northern lords—especially the great houses—was indeed inconsiderate. However, the ...
Winterfell was Arya’s home. Aegor knew better than to dictate where the Stark girl could or couldn’t go within her own family’s castle. Left with no choice, he allowed her to accompany him to the lord’s solar.
Upon entering, he realized they were not alone. Robb wasn’t the only one present; his mother, Lady Catelyn, was also there.
Eddard Stark’s widow cast a reproachful look at her daughter. “Arya, what are you doing here?”
“Robb’s been busy with all ...
Winterfell remained the same—like a cold, dark monolith of stone standing steadfast in its seemingly eternal place. The return of the Northern army brought some life back to its halls, but the bustle was fleeting. The Glover, Umber, and Bolton men—among the last to accompany their liege lord to his final destination—were already preparing to march back to their own lands.
According to the original plan, Aegor was to hand Asha Greyjoy over to the Glovers, who would use her as a ba...
The so-called "let the clans decide how to handle the prisoners" was, of course, Robb Stark’s way of saying, "I’m leaving this to Aegor." While many of Aegor’s goals remained unachieved, he had at least secured this concession and upheld his promise regarding Asha. It wasn’t a complete failure—though, even if he broke his word, a single captive like her wouldn’t be able to do much to him.
As Aegor watched the Young Wolf walk away, he suddenly realized: the boy now carried h...
"No one broke the rules, my lord," Aegor replied with practiced ease, having anticipated this line of questioning. He answered without hesitation, calm and composed. "The Night's Watch did not participate in the conflict. The Gift’s forces that traveled south were not officially part of the Watch. I accompanied them, but I swear I did not take part in any battle—nor did I so much as touch a weapon."
"Don't play word games with me," Robb Stark said coldly. "The Gift is Night’s Wat...
Aegor didn’t have enough wildfire to burn the Dreadfort to the ground.
The massive stockpile of stabilized wildfire brought from King’s Landing was stored along the Wall in ten relatively intact forts with repaired stairs, all under the Night’s Watch’s control. These reserves were strategic, meant solely for use against the wight invasion, and Aegor had resolved never to deploy them without an extreme emergency. For this campaign south into the Gift, he had only a small amount ...
The back of her head hit the wall with a dull thud as the man’s face drew so close to hers that Asha could smell his foul breath. She could see the yellowed patterns on his teeth clearly, but she remained calm. Even as he shoved her against the wall, her hand had silently slipped to the hilt of her dagger.
As the man leaned in, ready to rip at his "prey’s" clothing, he suddenly froze. He felt something cold press against his groin. Looking down, he saw a gleaming dagger aimed direc...
A small squad of soldiers escorted a well-fed and well-watered Asha to the northernmost end of the causeway. One of them unlocked her shackles, while another returned her weapons to her hands.
“Be quick about it,” the officer leading them said, before turning back with his subordinates to the camp.
Asha didn’t respond. She sheathed her dagger into her jacket, hooked her hand axe onto her shoulder strap, and rubbed her wrists, flexing her ankles and even hopping on the spot...
According to legend, during the Age of Dawn, a group of humans known as the First Men crossed the Arm of Dorne, bringing bronze weapons, leather armor, and horses, and began invading Westeros. The native Children of the Forest were unable to stop the human advance and were forced to retreat further and further north. On the brink of extinction, the Children unleashed a desperate act of magic, summoning a cataclysmic flood. The flood not only destroyed the Arm of Dorne, severing the land bridg...
2025-01-28 23:08:10 +0000 UTC View PostAsha stood at the entrance of the tent, her chains dragging noisily against the ground as she glared furiously at Aegor. Her eyes burned with rage, her body trembling slightly, giving off the impression that she might lunge forward at any moment and strangle him with her iron shackles.
The two guards tightened their grips on their spears, the tension in the air growing thick and icy.
After what felt like an eternity—though it was probably only a minute or so—Asha finally bro...
Asha knew exactly why she was still alive.
After losing to her uncle Euron at the kingsmoot, abandoning Deepwood Motte in a panic due to a Night's Watch officer and his rabble of farmers, and finally being defeated and captured on the shore—she was no longer the proud Kraken’s daughter. Now, she was nothing more than a trophy, a prisoner for some black-clad man to parade before the North as evidence of the Night’s Watch’s supposed victory over the Ironborn.
She had thoug...
The salty sea breeze hit the Ironborn like a long-lost lover's embrace, lifting their spirits. Moments later, the familiar sound of waves crashing against the shore reached their ears. After an exhausting night fleeing through the dense woods, the retreating crew finally emerged onto the coast.
With no sign of pursuers, they had taken several short rests along the way, though Asha had driven them forward after barely ten minutes each time. Now, as their feet finally left the mossy fore...
Without spilling a single drop of blood, relying only on dozens of war horns and thousands of torches, Aegor reclaimed Deepwood Motte, which had been held by the Ironborn for months. Aside from a few wildlings scraping themselves on tree branches in the dark, there were no injuries. Conversely, not a single Ironborn was killed.
Aegor was pleased with this result.
In theory, he didn’t need to be so cautious about the lives of the mountain clansmen or the New Gift Settlers. For ...
Though constructed of wood, Deepwood Motte was not easily threatened by fire. Its walls were packed with frozen earth, and its outer surface was covered in thick, ancient moss. Even if flames were sparked, the fire would struggle to spread.
Of course, such defenses were meaningless in the face of wildfire.
Aegor had brought a few jars of wildfire from Crown's Rest but he had no intention of relying entirely on fire to destroy the enemy. With a force ten times the size of the def...
The dream of ruling might well be an obsession, deeply etched into the bloodline of House Greyjoy. Madness and ambition seemed to spare none of its members. Yet, unlike her father’s blind arrogance and recklessness, Asha Greyjoy prided herself on being far more pragmatic and clear-headed.
Her uncle had been right about one thing: the Old Way worked for the Iron Islands in a time when they were but one of many fractured kingdoms, evenly matched and protected by the natural barrier of ...
An old man, as tall and broad as Hoarser Umber, stormed into the hall with a fierce demeanor. He walked straight up to Aegor and barked, “So, you’re the infamous Chief Logistics Officer of the Night’s Watch? Boy, has anyone told you—the Umbers have always suffered the most at the hands of wildlings, and we hate them more than any other Northern family. And of all the Umbers, I hate them the most!”
Aegor studied the man’s flushed face, unruly white beard, and the dirty white...
While chaos brewed along the Wall, the rest of the world in the Song of Ice and Fire universe did not grind to a halt.
South of the Neck, winter had yet to arrive in Westeros. Stannis Baratheon, seated on the Iron Throne, continued his wars against the pretenders to his crown.
On the side of the rebels, the Reach—though vast and wealthy—had suffered repeated defeats. Its lords, who held the real wealth and resources, had nearly exhausted their willingness to bleed their coff...
Without a commander to unite them and no consensus among the leadership, the Night’s Watch resembled a headless giant, with its various parts operating under the direction of their respective "subordinate nerve centers." How much authority the high-ranking officers could exert over these parts was entirely up to their individual resourcefulness.
However, not all news was bad. Besides the unwelcome guests from Shadow Tower and Eastwatch, Aegor was surprised to learn that he still had ...
Warner Buckwell led over two hundred soldiers to Long Night Fort, with the Flint clan contributing several hundred more warriors to support the operation. With ample manpower, the mission proceeded smoothly.
Aegor deliberately avoided asking for a detailed report on how the “culprit” was captured in the New Gift settler village. He didn’t need to know the blood-soaked details. Predictably, the operation met resistance from the villagers, but the result was inevitable. One side wa...
Most of "his own people" had already pledged their loyalty and support—there was no need to win them over. Aegor only had to give the word, and they would follow. But there were exceptions.
His previous candid conversation with Jaime during a visit to the mountain clans had brought them closer, but the chief logistics officer had yet to fully pull the Kingslayer into his inner circle. And now, if he wanted to exploit the election rules through leverage, Aegor had to rally every possib...
2025-01-28 23:04:42 +0000 UTC View PostAegor returned to his room and sat quietly under the flickering candlelight, deep in thought.
After giving Jon instructions, he had carefully considered every person at his disposal on the way back, weighing their potential. Yet, the conclusion was frustrating—there was no one truly suitable to put forward as a candidate except himself.
The idea of being the power behind the throne, an uncrowned king, sounded appealing. But such a role required strength to back it up, and the ...
"Jon, no one could have predicted that Lord Commander Mormont would meet such a fate at this crucial juncture. I’m not here to discuss whose fault it is or what mistakes were made. The dead are gone; the living must carry on. To be blunt, the Night’s Watch is in more danger now than ever before, and I need your help.”
Jon’s direwolf, Ghost, had grown so large he looked like a white-furred calf. Aegor, despite being familiar with the beast, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of u...
“Our Lord Commander led a few of us to investigate near the spot where Lady Meera Reed was nearly abducted. It was close to a wildling—no, I mean, a ‘New Gift settler village.’ We were trying to find out who was behind it,” said the ranger who had been with Mormont at the time. He nervously recounted the events to the Night’s Watch leadership. “At first, everything seemed fine. The villagers would come out of their holes and tents to watch us but just stood there, staring coldly...
2025-01-28 23:03:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe militia from Queensgate and Shadow Tower quickly arrived at Castle Black. Under the forceful "maintenance of order" imposed by over a thousand soldiers, the thousands of wildlings temporarily stationed outside Castle Black were coerced into compliance. After a series of procedures, they officially became new denizens of the Gift.
Nearly every wildling who had recently crossed the Wall had lost friends or family to the wights. Naturally, this cold, hostile treatment left them seethi...
The basket was nothing like the winch cage, which was connected to pulleys and other mechanisms. It relied entirely on manual effort to pull it up. The moment Jaime jumped in, a few wights climbed onto the basket as well, gripping its frame. The combined weight of a man and several wights strained the rope dangerously, nearly dragging the soldiers on the Wall's summit holding the other end down with it. In a critical moment, Jaime swung his sword one-handed, severing the rope that secured the...
2025-01-28 23:03:07 +0000 UTC View Post